A place where we can quiet our busy world

If you visit Orava, be sure to go and see it. It has not only religious significance, it can also be a tip for a trip for ordinary visitors. In recent years, it has become a tourist magnet not only for Slovaks, but also people from near and far abroad come here. The atmosphere associated with the area will surprise you. If you enter it with unrest in your soul, you will leave reconciled.

The creation of the tallest statue of Christ in Slovakia was inspired by a similar monument above Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That is why the place where you can find it was named Rio de Klin. At the time of construction, the Orava statue of Christ was the third similar one in the world, the other is in Lisbon, Portugal.

The fact itself can be a reason to visit Klin. Instead of a view of Copacabana Beach, the scenery of Orava opens up from the area on the Grapa hill (686 m above sea level). The village and the area are located in the Námestovo district. The monumental work is 9.5 meters high, has an arm span of seven meters and weighs 23 tons. It has been standing here for seventeen years, and its author is the local folk carver Peter Ganobjak. The establishment of the pilgrimage site was initiated and financed by the entrepreneur Jozef Sroka.

The statue, installed in 2008, has made the previously inconspicuous village of Klin more visible. The area in which it is located offers a view of the Orava Dam and the Tatras, the silhouettes of Roháče, the Orava Highlands and the Orava Magura. In good weather, Giewont above Zakopane in Poland can also be seen from here.

In addition to the large statue of Christ, you can also stop by other works depicting modern saints in the area, such as the statue of Zdenka Schelingová or the Holy Father John Paul II. The exit to the area is lined with seventeen stations of the cross and there is also a chapel where Catholic masses are served. The place is full of flowers, relaxation areas and shelters where you can hide from the weather.

You can easily get here from the village of Klin, it is located more than a kilometer north of it. You can come from Námestovo and from Tvrdošín. You can park in the village, you can drive to the pilgrimage site by car, but the road is narrow and steep, which you have to take into account. Therefore, we recommend using public transport and one ticket with the IDS PLUS application, then walking to the place, you will feel the experience more intensely.

From the village, just follow the yellow tourist sign. In the western part of Klin, it turns north, where you have to overcome one steeper asphalt section. The end of the climb to the mountain is also steep, there is the aforementioned Stations of the Cross. You can reach the mountain on foot from Klin in 30 to 40 minutes.

And then the pilgrimage site that made Orava visible is yours alone. The area is open all year round. Immerse yourself in yourself and let time pass. Once in a while it’s good to be able to quiet our hurried world for a moment.